The Biggest Investing Mistakes People Make at the Start of the Year

Many investors feel pressure at the start of a new year to make big portfolio changes. In this episode of The Capitalist Investor, Derek and Tony break down the most common investing mistakes people make early in the year and why activity is often confused with progress.

They discuss why overreacting to early market moves can create unnecessary risk, how chasing last year’s winners often backfires, and why simple rebalancing is usually more effective than drastic changes. The conversation also covers market volatility, mean reversion, discipline after strong multi year market performance, and how investors should think about positioning portfolios moving into 2026.

This episode is focused on long term thinking, risk management, and staying aligned with a plan instead of reacting emotionally to headlines or calendar changes.